Moving to San Antonio from Austin
Relocating from Austin, TX to San Antonio or the Texas Hill Country? RiverHills — based in Boerne & Kerrville — receives and delivers your move on our own trucks and crews, with one accountable team from load to unload.
Rated 5.0★ from 500+ Google Reviews across our Boerne & Kerrville locations. Licensed & insured — USDOT 3561425 · MC-1196218.
Why people move from Austin to San Antonio
The Austin → San Antonio move
Moving from Austin to San Antonio is one of the most straightforward hauls in Texas: roughly 80 miles almost due south down Interstate 35. A load out of Austin merges onto I-35 South and rolls past Buda and Kyle, through San Marcos with its spring-fed river and Premium Outlets, past the tube runs and Gruene Historic District of New Braunfels on the Comal, and then through Schertz and Selma before reaching the north side of San Antonio near the 1604 or Loop 410 interchange. Free-flowing, the drive is about an hour and a half — but I-35 is one of the busiest, most construction-heavy freeways in the state, and the Capital Express work through Austin plus the daily bottleneck around San Marcos and Kyle can stretch it well past that. RiverHills plans the departure around those choke points rather than pretending they aren't there.
RiverHills is based in the Texas Hill Country in Boerne and Kerrville and works San Antonio as its primary market, so the destination end is home turf. Owner-operator Jackson Williams runs the move with a single dedicated crew and truck — the same team loads your home in Austin and delivers it in San Antonio, with no interlining, warehouse transfer, or handoff to a second company along the way. RiverHills carries active federal household-goods authority (USDOT 3561425, MC-1196218) and Texas intrastate authority (TxDMV 009770506C), so whether you're landing in Stone Oak, Alamo Heights, or out toward Boerne and New Braunfels, it's one accountable crew from your Austin front door to your San Antonio one. Because the distance is short, most of these moves finish in a single day, load to unload.
What changes when you move from Austin
The first thing an Austin mover notices is how much further a housing budget goes. Austin's median home price and rents climbed hard through the tech boom and sit near the top of the Texas market; San Antonio's are markedly lower, which is why the trade so often runs from an apartment or starter condo in Austin to an actual house with a yard on San Antonio's North Side or in the suburbs. Neighborhood for neighborhood, San Antonio simply asks less for square footage.
Taxes shake out in San Antonio's favor overall. Both cities are in Texas, so there's no state income tax on either side of the move — your paycheck is taxed the same. Property taxes are high statewide, and Bexar County's rates are nothing to shrug at, but because San Antonio home values sit well below Austin's, the actual annual tax bill on a comparable home usually comes in smaller. One catch worth planning for: your Travis County homestead exemption doesn't follow you, so you'll re-file in Bexar County after closing.
Climate and pace are close cousins but not identical. Both cities share the muggy Central Texas summer, but San Antonio sits at the western edge of that zone where the land begins tilting up into the Hill Country and out toward the drier South Texas plains — a touch hotter and less green than Austin's lake-and-greenbelt setting. The bigger day-to-day difference is tempo: Austin runs on boomtown urgency and festival-season chaos, while San Antonio moves slower, leans into family and heritage, and feels far less like it's trying to reinvent itself every eighteen months.
Where Austin transplants land in the San Antonio area
Where Austin transplants land depends on what they're chasing. Those who want a walkable, old-money feel like Tarrytown or Hyde Park gravitate to Alamo Heights, Terrell Hills, and Olmos Park — leafy, established, close-in neighborhoods just north of downtown. Professionals and families coming for space and newer construction favor the master-planned North Side: Stone Oak, Shavano Park, and Timberwood Park up near 1604, or The Dominion for something gated and upscale. Anyone still tied to Austin by work often splits the difference and settles along the I-35 midpoint in New Braunfels, Schertz, or Cibolo, where the commute back north stays manageable and the Comal and Guadalupe rivers are minutes away.
Transplants who came for the Hill Country itself skip the city core and head for Boerne and Fair Oaks Ranch to the northwest — rolling limestone country, strong schools, and small-town main streets, which happens to be RiverHills' own backyard. A few practical notes for newcomers: San Antonio's grid is defined by two loops, 410 (inner) and 1604 (outer), and locals give directions by them, so learn which loop your neighborhood hangs off of early. Register your vehicle and update your license through Bexar County, re-file that homestead exemption, and expect the city to feel more spread-out and car-dependent than central Austin — the trade for all that extra room.
Tips for the Austin → San Antonio move
Everything your move to San Antonio needs
One accountable crew handles packing, loading, transport, and setup for your Austin → San Antonio relocation.
Local Moving
Full-service local moving for homes, apartments, and condos across San Antonio, Boerne, Kerrville, and the Texas Hill Country.
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Long-Distance Moving
Interstate and cross-Texas moves out of San Antonio and the Hill Country under our own USDOT & MC authority.
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Commercial & Office Moving
Office, retail, and business relocations across San Antonio with minimal downtime.
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Packing Services
Full or partial professional packing, unpacking, and premium materials to protect what matters.
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Piano & Specialty Moving
Careful handling for pianos, gun safes, and heavy or high-value specialty items.
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Senior Moving
Patient, compassionate downsizing and senior relocation with full-service packing and setup.
Learn more arrow_forwardMoving to San Antonio from Austin: FAQ
How long does the Austin to San Antonio move actually take? expand_more
It's about 80 miles straight down I-35 South, or roughly an hour and a half of driving when the freeway is flowing. In practice, Austin's Capital Express construction and the daily jam around San Marcos and Kyle can stretch that, so RiverHills times the departure to dodge the worst of it. Because the distance is short and it's one crew and truck the whole way, the vast majority of these moves are completed in a single day, load to unload.
Does RiverHills handle the Austin end too, or just delivery in San Antonio? expand_more
Both. The same dedicated RiverHills crew loads your home in Austin and delivers it in San Antonio — there's no warehouse transfer, no interlining, and no handoff to a second company. RiverHills carries active household-goods authority (USDOT 3561425, MC-1196218) plus Texas intrastate authority (TxDMV 009770506C), so it's one accountable team, owner-operated by Jackson Williams, from your Austin front door to wherever you're landing in the San Antonio area.
Will my furniture be okay on a hot Texas summer move day? expand_more
Yes. Every piece is padded, blanket-wrapped, and secured for the run down I-35, and because it's a short same-day haul the crew isn't leaving your belongings sitting in transit. RiverHills doesn't use climate-controlled trucks — what protects your things is careful wrapping, tight loading, and getting the job done in one day rather than over multiple stops.
Should I settle in San Antonio proper or out in the Hill Country suburbs? expand_more
It depends on what pulled you out of Austin. If you still commute back north for work, New Braunfels, Schertz, or Cibolo along I-35 keep the drive reasonable. If you want walkable, established charm, look at Alamo Heights or Terrell Hills; for newer master-planned space, Stone Oak and the North Side; and if it was the Hill Country you were after, Boerne and Fair Oaks Ranch are exactly RiverHills' home territory. The crew delivers to all of them.
Planning your move to San Antonio?
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